Not Losing and Exercising my Tush Off?!

My coach at bootcamp always encourages us to have 1 unrestricted meal a week, as long as it's on a day where you've exercised and it only last 1 hour. This works on a psychological level because it satisfies cravings and keeps you from feeling deprived, but also it helps boost the production of leptin,a hormone that regulates appetite and metabolism.

Thanks everyone! I will add more to my diet. I just wasn't sure that is what I should do but it makes totoal sense. I have noticed I am able to do more things physically but thats about it. My blood pressure as always is low 112/71. My clothes fit the same but my skin is less jiggly so there is an improvement. I don't know why I let the scale numbers rule my emotions.

I agree with Coach Nancy. Eating too little and exercising too much can hinder a person's weight loss, not help it. You're forcing your body to decide which is more important i.e. having calories to keep your heart functioning properly or having calories to exercise. I can assure you that your body doesn't care if you're trying to lose weight or not. All your body cares about is having enough calories (energy) to keep your vital organs functioning. If it doesn't get enough calories, then your body is going to start slowing down processes and conserving fat.

I know this is going to sound strange, but if you want your body to release fat, you need to eat more if you're going to increase the amount of exercise you do.

Also, many of us were able to lose weight a lot faster when we were younger. However, if we've been yo yo dieters, it takes longer to lose the same amount of weight. Why ? Years of yo yo dieting causes our bodies to become more efficient at conserving fat. So, you may find that it does take longer to lose weight this time around. It depends how long your weight has gone up and down over the years.

One thing I will say is that even though the scale might not be moving, you must be noticing some healthy changes. Are you sleeping better ? Do you have more energy ? Can you walk up stairs without getting winded ? Can you carry more bags of groceries ? can you do more push ups today than you could a month ago ? are your clothes fitting better ? How's your blood pressure ?

Do you know that if your blood pressure has decreased in the last month, your doctor would be thrilled even if the scale didn't move. Lowering your blood pressure is a huge health benefit.

So, don't assume you're not making a change because the scale isn't moving as fast as you'd like. Weight loss really IS a slow steady process that takes time. You didn't gain the weight overnight, it's not coming off overnight.

It may be that you are not eating enough to support your current activity. When this happens, believe it or not, the body actually begins to conserve the calories you are consuming to help maintain normal biological functions.

Your body burns calories in more ways than just exercising. We need calories to keep our bodies functioning. In fact these are the calories the body burns the most in a single day. We call this our basal or resting metabolic rate. These calories regulate our body temperature, grow new skin and nails, are used for thinking, and breathing, etc, etc.

Then we burn calories doing every day things like cleaning, reading, shopping, etc. and we call these active daily living activities. These are the second highest caloric expenditure.

So to make a long story short, you must eat to lose. 1200 calories a day is generally reserved for those who live a sedentary lifestyle. For those more active, the calorie range is closer to 1500 calories a day.

But remember, it's going to take time, so try giving it a solid 4-6 weeks for the changes to happen.

For two months now I have been tracking my calories and eating better more balanced meals . I am eating between 1200-1300 calories a day. I burn 3000 – 3500 calories a week through strength training, zumba and elliptical machine. I don’t understand why I am not losing anything, nothing, zip. I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong. Anyone have any suggestions?

I lost 20lbs with sparks before and it only took me two months. The only thing I am doing differently is I am way more active. I am so lost. It feels like I am doing all this work for nothing….but I am not going to stop trying!

adding: I have been taking my measurments and they haven't moved just like the darn scale.

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